How I saw the light and got my company into community service
Running a business should be about more than just making money, says CEO Derek Wu, who found that staff thrive when volunteering
Myth busted: reading in dim light will not damage your eyes, health experts have confirmed. What it will do is cause temporary eye strain, and make you more easily tired.
Lighting is a pivotal part of our lives, relating to health, productivity, safety and the environment. Yet, shockingly, some in Hong Kong don’t have access to proper lighting.
“You can really see it in subdivided homes, which is a serious problem in Hong Kong,” says Derek Wu Chi-chung, 37, CEO of local lighting solutions company Future Lighting.
His company has been training tertiary students on different kinds of lighting-related knowledge, such as energy efficiency and lighting concepts.
“For example, where should you put the lamp for a left- or right-handed kid while they do homework?”
These student volunteers would then visit subdivided homes and share the knowledge with grass roots families.
Often it’s not just information these households have no access to, but also the actual lighting itself. “And we noticed some families will just keep lights off to save money. This can be dangerous, especially with elderly folks.”
So the volunteers also bring along LED lights and lamps donated by Wu’s company for those who need them, including wall-adhering lights with motion sensors that can automatically shine the way for elderly folks, for example, whenever they need to get up for the bathroom at night.
Future Lighting has been nominated by the South China Morning Post for a Lion Rock Entrepreneur Award in its Spirit of Hong Kong Awards.
Wu, having seen how overseas companies can do wonderful things with their corporate social responsibility programmes when he was in the UK, learned that a business could offer so much more than just making money. So when he came back to help with his uncle’s lighting firm, he made that concept a part of the company culture.
“Lighting plays such a huge role in our lives, so I realised our expertise could in fact make an impact for many.”
With volunteering, unity improves so much and the bonding becomes powerful in our day to day work
They got in touch with some NGOs and had meetings with them to figure out how best to contribute their resources. They’ve since come up with a number of programmes to offer help, including the subdivided home volunteering, as well as the design and donation of lighting for an elderly care home.
The company also engages in a variety of charitable activities. They visit senior citizens, donate glasses, help the rural poor on the mainland and take part in fundraisers.
Wu hopes more businesses in Hong Kong will see the benefits that can be gained – not just by those in need, but also the company itself – from doing community service.
He cites an example from a recent charity marathon in which members of each team took turns running laps on a sports field to raise money until 42km were completed. “It was for charity, but it was also a competition. At first our team didn’t know how to strategise, but when we started falling behind other teams, suddenly everyone kicked into challenge mode: who runs how many laps? Who goes next?”
Wu witnessed real teamwork with pride. “After the run, the whole team bonded so well – you could really see the difference.
“With volunteering, unity improves so much and the bonding becomes powerful in our day to day work. There’s definitely a direct benefit to the company in this kind of engagement.”
